NYCC & 1 Week Left for Kickstarter

I can’t believe there’s only one week left to go for the AER HEAD Kickstarter! Ends Thursday October 10th at 5pm, so if you haven’t backed yet but would like to, don’t delay any longer to get a digital or physical copy of AER, original art, + more!

My campaign is a bit longer than most because I didn’t want to end on New York Comic Con. I won’t be tabling in artist alley this year, but that may be a good thing so I don’t have to worry about making the table $ back. This year I’ll be focusing on promoting the Kickstarter while I go to various panels and visit people. I made a big sign out of the AER HEAD cover art and am going to wear it on my head haha! I’ll have some preview comics and if anyone wants to back the campaign on the spot they’ll get the mini comic free. At SPX I had a table for 2 days and got a few backers, so we’ll see how this new approach works. It’s fun trying different marketing ideas!

If you WOULD like a sketch from me, I’ll still take orders though! I’m using the Pro Lounge as my base - lower level room 1B05. Direct message me on Instagram @mindyindy_art or twitter @mindy_indy so we can meet up for commissions.

Business Tip

Always try to be one step ahead (or a few steps!). In my recent public Patreon update, I talk about how all the research and prep work before the Kickstarter launched was essential to its success for reaching its first goal in a week and a half.

I GOT A NYCC TABLE!! K8

Being on wait lists seems to pay off a lot where comic cons are concerned.  Visit me and ToughSpirit Creations this week at NYCC in Artist Alley table K8 !!!  Think of K-9, like the dog, and we're right next to it.  Here's a link to our listing on the official NYCC site:  http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Exhibitors/3751487/Mindy-Indy-ToughSpirit-Creations

Note that Artist Alley is in a different location this year!  We're on Level 1, which is the underground level - take the escalators downstairs.  This is different than in previous years when we were off in a separate annex.  Fingers crossed we'll all still get reception down there.  In the map below, we're the first blue rectangle on the left.  See a more detailed map here.

It's nice that NYCC has a space to put info about us artists online.

In the NYCC Gallery Grid

Super excited and hope to see you there!  Thursday tickets to NYCC are still available as of this posting!

Equations Comic and NYCC Pre-Orders

I'm happy to present to you the latest comic I worked on with writer Patrick McEvoy, called "Equations!"  This one was tricky to draw, since the characters are made up of numbers/equations, and I'm used to drawing humans, but I was up for the challenge.  Went through some character designs before we came to the final result.  I was thinking of numbers stacked on each other like School House Rock-style, and in the end we decided to have human-like bubble-forms around the figures too.

In other news, NYCC is next week!  I'm still on the wait-list for an artist alley table, but if that changes, I'll blog about it.  I am doing pre-show commissions though!  I'll be there at the convention as a "professional" for all 4 days, networking and checking out creator panels.  If you'd like to get a custom sketch from me, please email me at mindy@mindyindy.com BEFORE the show and tell me what you'd like.  You can PayPal to that address, and we can meet any day at the show for you to pick it up!  Also, if you'd like to get a variant sketch cover comic at the show and have me draw on it, send me an email and we can connect at the show (I won't be checking email during show hours though, but give me a head's up if you're thinking of variants).  Thanks and looking forward to a super fun show!

Missed #inktober?

This year I tried out Inktober for the first time and it was really fun!  What the heck IS Inktober?  "Every October, artists all over the world take on the InkTober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month."  Artist Jake Parker "created InkTober in 2009 as a challenge to improve [his] inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.  It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year."

I'd seen some friends in years past posting art on social media with hashtags (#) of #inktober but didn't really pay attention to the movement until I saw an Inktober panel at NYCC this year.  Artists talked about how it doesn't matter if you miss some days and it doesn't have to be a perfect drawing, but the goal is to help you to draw something on a regular basis, and you'll realize you're capable of more than you think. 

I started more than halfway through October and did 10 Inktober drawings total.  I loved just drawing in my sketchbook something that was not part of a larger project for once.  There was a lot of freedom in just playing around with physical ink, which I've done less since going more digital with my work.  I hadn't tried ink washes for YEARS until the theme of ink encouraged me to think of it, and painting Jupiter like that reawakened a childlike glee.

Here are the prompts for each day of October.  For example, for 10/1, you'd draw something that's FAST.  But if you missed participating in Inktober, why wait all the way until next year?  These prompts can be applied to ANY month!  Who cares if it's not October anymore?  It's just fun!  Not sure if you'd still want to tag your work with the official #, but that's not the point.  The point is it helps you get your daily creativity inspiration!  If you already did Inktober, and are looking for more prompt challenges, Tentacularly on Reddit has made a November list with 30 prompts and you can use color or anything.  Artprompts.org is pretty cool too, where you click a category and it gives you a prompt phrase.  My favorite is the "Situation" category.

Cheers to creating more art!

The #inktober sketch with the most "likes" on Facebook (16): Awesom-O for the BOX theme on 10/26/16.

I've struggled with insomnia my whole life.  Over the years, I've learned to not eat certain things in the evening and other habits to help get a better night's rest.  Of course, avoiding caffeine after 3pm is ideal.  But I've discovered that even eating chips as an after dinner snack keeps me awake!  They don't have caffeine, but it must be the grease.  Most dietitians recommend against eating anything late at night, but being hungry keeps me awake MORE, so I have to eat something.  Lately, if I find that my relaxation/meditation CDs/apps (I prefer CDs because the blue light from a phone or tablet can keep you awake) aren't doing the trick, reading a boring book helps a lot.

Working With Writers

Here's another one-shot comic page I created with writer Patrick McEvoy!  I love his techie futuristic themes.  Also, couldn't help throwing in another disco-ball pattern in the computer room in the first panel.  (Side note - the window and last panel colors were inspired by Sonic 2's Oil Ocean Zone).  It's great that Patrick is cool with whatever I come up with, as writers should allow freedom for the artist to do what they do best!  He was also open to suggestions I had for making the second panel two separate panels, so it's more clear that we are zooming into the computer's circuitry.

The Papercutz team on the Charmz School panel at NYCC 2016!  Left to right:  Sven Larsen (marketing), Jeff Whitman (editorial), Janice Chiang (letterer), Mindy Indy (penciler/inker/colorist), Amy Chu (writer), and not pictured is Jay Jay Jackson (penciler/inker/colorist) who joined us later in the panel!

Working with others was one of our discussion topics on the Charmz School panel at NYCC.  letterer Janice Chiang and writer Amy Chu talked about how they worked together on many projects over the years, as writing and lettering are very intertwined.  Jay Jay Jackson and I are both "triple-threat" penciler/inker/colorists, so we talked about our experiences working with others, but also benefits of being sole creators of comics. 

NYCC's line up of panels was MUCH better than last years!  I targeted other writing panels too, as I'm working on rewriting AER HEAD, and panelists kept suggestingfor writers to start working with an artist on one-page comics before delving into their magnum opus.  This is great, because it helps both writer and artist develop their communications to see if they work well with each other. 

This is something that people don't really think about.  Lots of indie creators are just so excited to get their work out there, that they don't take the time to get to know their team-mates working style:  Do they respond to email timely?  If not, was there a good reason?  Do they ask lots of questions to ensure clarity?  If not, they may end up doing extra work over changes.  What is their schedule like?  Do they prefer to work late at night?  All of these things and more can be ironed out with a one-page comic before committing to too much if you realize you're not working well together.

I also work with writers in the FD Foundation and RLS Foundation for our weekly and monthly comic strips.  My first boss for "No Tears:  Life With FD," David Brenner, usually sent me the script and I drew it: easy-peasy.  Occasionally, I'd offer suggestions (like "I don't think a kid would say it that way"), and sometimes he'd agree and we'd change the script, but usually the script stayed "as-is."  My new boss for No Tears, Paul Schack, and also the team at the RLS Foundation are very open to my script suggestions.  They give me the dialogue and I'd sketch it out, realizing that it would be better if some things were changed in the script or action description.  Sometimes it's a back-and-forth process, which leads to a better finished comic!  For example, the No Tears comic above was originally scripted with just the bottom 2 panels, but I suggested we insert a 3rd panel in the beginning giving more explanation that October is Dysautonomia Awareness month.  YAY TEAMWORK!

Jay Jay Jackson and I were talking later on about how we don't like Robert McKee's "Story," a book about screenwriting.  It's supposed to be this really great book, but it's so old that I don't get half the movie references, and the writing is pretty dry.  I have the book sitting next to my bed, for when insomnia strikes it helps put me to sleep.

Creating Comics Workshop @NYCC!

This Thursday 10/6 I'll be part of a panel at NYCC about getting girls making comics!  Charmz School - The Girlcentric Creating Comics Workshop, 4P - 5P, Room 1A18

The line up has changed from what's on the site, which now includes such Papercutz peeps as:  JayJay Jackson (penciler/inker/colorist),  Melinda "Mindy Indy" Steffen (penciler/inker/colorist),  Janice Chiang  (letterer),  Amy Chu (writer), and Jeff Whitman (editorial). 

We'll all talk about how we started in the comics industry, then go into detail about each step of the comics process, and everyone can draw along!  Sure to be a girl-tastic time!

"Hey, that panel sounds awesome, but I don't have a ticket to NYCC."  You're in luck!  I just checked the site and tickets are still available for Thursday only!  $40 for the day.  YES it's worth taking the day off work and taking your kid out of school.  Flu season is starting - an easy excuse.  SEE YOU THERE!

All the air vents in my apartment building are connected.  This means I can smell and hear things from other people's bathrooms.  I really hate smelling some nasty overdosed cologne when I'm trying to work or eat.  But I guess it's better than smelling some other things... 

NYCC After Party Exhibition @ Lovecraft Thurs!

New York Comic Con is next week!  As it stands right now, I'm still on the wait list for an Artist Alley table.  If you'd like a sketch from me, you can email your order to mindy@mindyindy.com early next week, and I can deliver it to you at the show.  OR even BETTER, you can get a sketch at the NYCC after party at Lovecraft Bar that I'll be exhibiting at with 20 other artists, 5 bands, and cosplayers!  Missed your chance for a ticket to NYCC?  No worries - stop by Lovecraft for tons of comic-con fun!  This video highlights last year's party.

Lovecraft Bar NYC 50 Avenue B, New York, New York 10009

THURSDAY October 6th from 8pm - Midnight.

$5 entry, which will be donated to http://fotvm.org/ to help the homeless. One drink or food purchase min. 21+ event

Get Tickets Here: https://nyccafterparty.eventbrite.com/

For more info, check out the facebook event too.  Hope to see you there!

Unfortunately, I always fall into the trap of buying food on sale.  Unfortunately, Key Food is the closest grocery store.  "When in doubt, throw it out," but I may as well get my $ back too.  Returned 2 Marie Callender's pot pies today.

Recovery 2

NYCC turned out to be pretty great this year!  Tabling with Jennie Wood was super as always :)  Very thankful for lots of repeat customers - thank you!  Thursday was surprisingly intense.  However, I got a bad cold last week and lost my voice for Thursday.  Luckily I got in to see a Dr. (yay Obamacare!) and got anti-biotics, so I actually started to feel better before the weekend hit, and was back to full speed for the busiest days of the convention.  Because if I hadn't gotten to see a doctor, I imagined myself just getting more miserable for each day of the show, and losing $ or not making as much as I could have.  Conventions are pretty much the worst place to be if you're not feeling well, especially if you have to work at one.  

Because I wasn't 100% on Thursday, I ended up being a day behind on my sketches for people with multi-day passes.  On Sunday I was just taking orders and drawing them this week.  Finishing up the last few now, such as Breakdancing Ryu.  I was wondering what a cool pose would be for him, because you always see him in fighting poses, but martial arts kind of looks like breakdancing, so voila!   The more I sketch characters, the more I like to draw them in funny/ironic situations, like Captain America grilling hot dogs in an apron, or the Flash just sitting there relaxing.

Results from the tip jar experiment!  This time the question was:  Which show is funnier?  South Park or Family Guy?  Family Guy won by a quarter!  $1.50 vs South Park with $1.25.  Yeah, not many people voted, but this time I had only half a table, whereas in Baltimore I had a whole table with room to spread out.  At NYCC, there was SO MUCH stuff going on, that only a few people noticed the voting cans, and most people passed before I could point out the cans after saying my usual speech.  This leads me to think that when I have a half table, maybe the small real estate taken up by the cans could be used better to display the Daily Misfortune books instead, and maybe I should save the tip cans for when I only have a whole table.  The experiment continues.

Oh and the Comic Performance went well!  I recorded it, and will upload it to YouTube sometime.  Many thanks to all who came!  It was so much fun I want to do more!  I have plans.... (rubbing hands together evilly....) 

The life of a freelancer happens in very intense spurts, with recovery periods after.  I've noticed a correlation of my working habits after days of intense work at a comic convention or coloring gig - I always take a full day to relax the day after.  Lots of sleep, no plans for work or even social activities, just chill time for a whole day.  The following week, I find it hard sometimes to get back into the groove I had with other freelance work before the intense burst hit.  But I always get back on.  Listening to productivity podcasts helps too - more on that in a future blog post, perhaps!

Tip Jar Experiment

Baltimore Comic Con was great this past weekend!  Sketched a lot of kids as heroes, caught up with friends, and stayed at an awesome AirBnB.  I also tried a new experiment - you may have seen voting jars in cafes where they pose a question and have you vote with $ to get more tips.  Why not do the same for comic cons?  Sometimes I get tips and it's a nice extra surprise, but I've learned that the act of suggesting tips brings more tips.  And yes, that is an egg beater holding up the sign.  I asked my room mate when was the last time either of us used an egg beater?  The answer was never.  The cans are also the "Hell or High Watermelon" beer cans (yum!), which I liked for the awesome design.  Yay recycling!  

So who would win in a battle - Star Wars or Star Trek?  It was interesting hearing people's responses as to why either side would win - "Guns don't work in Star Trek," "The Force has awesome fighting skills," etc.  

THE RESULTS:  STAR WARS WINS at $7.75!  Star Trek got $1.20.

This was a fun game and I want to pose different questions for future comic cons!  It's another great conversation starter with fans, and I get a little extra $.  Every bit helps - that's enough to buy some chai lattes, or lunch!  

OH also I got into NYCC, finally!  I'll be at Artist Alley table S6 with Jennie Wood!  Very exciting!  I can't believe it's already happening next week!  

I've traveled a lot and it's neat to see all kinds of different living spaces.  The problem with having a big house is that you can't find your phone a lot & have to search multiple floors to find it.  I don't have that problem :P

Brooklyn Book Festival This Weekend!

Did you know the Brooklyn Book Festival is this weekend?  Actually, they've been having all kinds of interesting events all around Brooklyn this week leading up to it, and they're celebrating the Festival's 10th Anniversary!  I'll be signing/sketching Power Rangers (and possibly Thea Sisters??  Wow that would be a miraculous turn-around time for that book!) at the Papercutz booth for Kid's Day this Saturday Sept 19 from 3-4pm and also Sun Sept 20 from 2-3pm.  Papercutz is numbered as 308 booth #3, in the Metro Tech Commons.  The address is: 1 MetroTech Roadway, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Saturday has lots of kids programming and activities, like live readings and pop-up book workshops.  There are quite a few comic related events going on too!  George O'Connor is talking about his Olympians comic series along with other cartoonists and authors Saturday at 2pm.  On Sunday at 1p, cartoonists Ayun Halliday and Leslie Stein join 30 Rock actor Judah Friedlander at the Brooklyn Historical Society "for a conversation about creativity, performance and the incessant inspirations of ordinary life, and making light out of the dark in our day-to-day."  More events are scattered around the Downtown Brooklyn area.  And of course there will be TONS OF BOOKS too :)  Actual books.  Like, not on your iPad.

ALL FESTIVAL EVENTS ARE FREE!!

TICKETS ARE NOT REQUIRED
SOME BOOKEND EVENTS CHARGE ADMISSION

In other news, I made a Facebook event for my Super Week comic reading on October 7th!  It's never too early to start planning.  If you're around NYC the day before NYCC begins, come celebrate with me in Bushwick!  Ironically, I'm still on the wait list to get an artist alley table, which makes me nervous.  Hopefully I can squeak in somehow.  If you know of any cartoonists who may be looking to split their table last-minute, please let me know!

As a freelancer, usually every day is different.  I didn't get a headache doing Photoshop for 20 hours a day, but after 4 hours of intense research, correspondence, reading text online, etc, my brain is unsettled.  Probably has to do with the blue light the screen emits.  Which is why reading from an actual book is much better!  Which is why you should go to the Brooklyn Book Fest this weekend!  ;)

Mark Your Calendars: Oct 7th!

Here's a secret:  ANYONE can propose panel topics for NYCC, and the same goes for Super Week events!  Super Week is a week of comic-themed events going on around NYC the week before New York Comic Con.  Ever since it was born last year, I wanted to be a part of Super Week! 

On Wednesday October 7th at 9pm, I'll be at Gotham City Lounge with my room mate Molly and friend Daniel (they're "& Friends") reading "Apartment Hunt."  Comic pages will be projected in an awesome comics-themed bar with cheap hero-themed drinks.  Q&A will follow the reading, including any questions about apartment hunting tips!  Feel free to share your own crazy hunting experiences too.  Readings of other comic zines will follow, including "The Misfortune Cookie" and "The Lucky Penny."

Gotham City Lounge is an amazing comics-themed bar in Bushwick.  Life-sized sculptures of Super Man and Batman greet you, busting out of the wall near the entrance.  Comics and movie paraphernalia plaster the ceilings and walls, with lots of Star Wars figurines, Iron Man stuff, etc.  Cheap booze, an arcade game, and a pool table add to the dive bar's fun atmosphere.

I came across Gotham City Lounge years ago before I even lived in NYC on a trip.  It was the coolest thing ever!  After I moved to Brooklyn, I didn't venture to that area of Bushwick much and kind of forgot about it somehow.  But it's pretty near my new 'hood and it was one of the first things I thought of for fun places to go.  Ray, the owner, is super chill and very open to new things like the comic reading I proposed.  They often project animations on the pull-down screen, but so far they haven't had a comic reading event... UNTIL NOW!

Gotham City Lounge is at 1293 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221.  It's literally RIGHT UNDER the Central Ave M stop.  Come hang out there any time!  More comic fans should know about this awesome place.

At 6am while trying to make a subway transfer to catch the megabus for Boston, I realized I'd be late if I didn't take a cab.  I kept trying to flag cabbies down, and they drove away with empty cars, not even noticing me.  Until I had to step out right in front of one.  But OH when it's midnight and I'm lugging a suitcase coming home with plenty of time, of course they honk to try to get me to ride.  So many times have I lugged a suitcase, not needing a cab, and they honk at me.  But THE VERY SECOND I need one, they all ignore me.

Teaching Comics!

Recently I taught a special 2-session comics lesson at Baruch college!  Part of a literature class called "The Outsiders/A Hood Project," students read literature set in 21st century America where issues of race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, and mental health shape and are shaped by our understanding of adolescence.  One such reading was the graphic novel "American Born Chinese."  I was called in to teach some cartooning basics, because students could choose to draw their final project in comic form.  Since these were college students and not kids, I took the lesson to the next level, focusing on storyboarding.  It was great to see how the students caught on and they did great work! 

I teach every so often when requested.  I was privately tutoring a very talented 6-year-old for a few months this past fall.  He had all these fun characters and I showed him how to make his own 10 page comic, and we printed some copies and assembled them together.  Fun times!

I'm teaching a class next Sunday at C2E2 - "Sketching From Life With Mindy Indy!"  It's much like the class I taught at NYCC with some changes.  If you're in Chicago and are checking out the convention, stop on by the Family HQ room (N427bc) from 11:30A-12:30P.  Fun for all ages!

If you'd like me to teach a group or privately tutor in comics or drawing, please let me know!

The "i before e, except after c" rule does not apply to caffeine!

NJ Pop-Up Market in the "Village" this Saturday!

I must be crazy for doing another show the weekend after NYCC, which by the way, HAS SURPASSED SAN DIEGO COMIC CON as the largest comic convention in North America!!  It's in the news!  Right now I'm finishing up some sketches that people were kind enough to be flexible with. 

But this nice lady contacted me who met me at a small flea market in NJ, and I figured why not, it's a free table, and it's in a super cute area of Jersey!  Only 3 stops on the PATH from NYC and you're in the adorable Grove Street area (called "the village"... not to be confused with lower Manhattan's Greenwich Village).  This fall-colored flyer tells it all - Noon to 5pm, around Monmouth and Newark Streets, outdoors!  May be a good place to get some early holiday shopping done.  I'll be there drawing anything for people, along with my mini comics.  Hope stuff doesn't fly away, but the weather should be nice this weekend at a lovely 69° with 0% chance of rain!

In other news, the DOGS! anthology is finally out!  My story "Dog VS. Balloon Dog" is in there along with other sweet and curious stories.  Available on Createspace, Amazon, and Kindle!  They're having an official release party in Ann Arbor next Friday at the Vault of Midnight!  Wish I could be there!  DOGS! is the result of an international collaboration between Captain Bijli Comics in New Delhi and Great Bear Comics in Michigan, along with many fantastic creators in India and the United States. All proceeds from the US edition go to Last Day Dog Rescue, a volunteer-run no-kill rescue that focuses on rescuing dogs from the “Urgent” list across lower Michigan and parts of Ohio.

They need to design dryer layouts like parking garages, where they can move all around or something :P

NYCC: More Awesome Each Year!

New York Comic Con was once again very awesome but extremely exhausting!  This year I sketched for a few hours at the Papercutz booth on the main show floor!  My first official signing/sketching block at NYCC - very exciting!  First I was doing medium sized sketches, but then they had me draw on this huge easel to attract attention, and kids got life-sized ranger posters!

Back at my artist's alley table, Nadia and I did even better sales-wise than last year!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat, get a sketch, etc!  This year quite a few people said "hey I got a sketch from you 2 years ago and everyone loved it!"  That kind of stuff means a lot :)  Here are my favorite sketches from NYCC:

One cool thing about NYCC is that Marvel and DC make special blank covers for some comics for artists to draw on!  All this guy said was "draw me as Super Man and my wife as Wonder Woman."  This is the quirky kind of drawing you get :)  He was like "OMG that's just like my marriage!!"  haha, Mindy Indy knows... :)

Another cool cover!  SUPER ADVENTURE!

FROG THOR VS. VENOM PIGEON!!! 

A clever gift!  One guy wanted all his siblings as Yankees players on baseball cards.  The small size is just perfect for ball cards!  I probably spent way too much time on these, but hey they turned out great.

Small but cute video game characters!  The guy kept mentioning "Dark Stalkers" and I kept not remembering what it was until I saw a picture and was like "OOOHHHH I saw ads for this all the time in comics and anime magazines!  Visual memory, not name memory haha!

Morrissey VS. John Lennon at poker.  These are the kinds of awesome things that I can make happen!  Of course Morrissey is losing at the game, like he loses at life in all his emo songs :P

He loved the drawing so much!  And had a super cool costume!

This lady met me 2 years ago at the Bronx comic con and is a costume designer.  She had an awesome voice alternator thing that really sounded like an alien!

An Oompa Loompa and Captain Crunch... now THERE'S cosplay you don't see every day!

After all that, I had to sleep for 13 hours STRAIGHT.  Only now am I kind of getting back to a normal speed.

I taught the Sketching from Life class on Sunday as part of NYCC's official programming!  My plan was to draw kiwis first (simple object but cool texture), then leaves, than hands.  Since the kiwis I bought were shriveling up, I wanted to wait a few days before the class to get fresh ones.  OF COURSE, Pathmark, the only 24 hour grocery store in my area, was out of them when they said a shipment would be in on Friday!  They are out of season, and I had no time for a kiwi hunt because both my Papercutz signings were first thing in the morning, and stores would be closed by the time the con got out at night Saturday.  ELLESAUR TO THE RESCUE!!!  My friend Ellen got all the kiwis I needed, and the class went really well! 

Also, the Ellesaur Scavenger hunt went well too - some people stopped by my booth and got stuff!  I think the hunt has even more potential for next year :)

NYCC Appearances

This year I'm participating in 4 events for New York Comic Con!  Made these spiffy flyers too :)  Kicking it off is the Geek Week Comics Business Panel, which I posted about yesterday.  Then I'm doing 2 signings for Power Rangers at the Papercutz booth 2229 on the main show floor Saturday Oct. 11th from 10A-11A, and again on Sunday Oct 12th from 11A-Noon.  If you or anyone you know loves the Rangers, come on by and I'll sign your book/Rangers item and do a little sketch :)  Last but not least, I'm teaching a drawing class as part of the "official programming!"  Sunday Oct 12th from 2:15P-3:00P in the Family HQ - Room 1C02 (on the lowest level of Javits).  It's called "Sketching from Life with Mindy Indy."  Here's the description: 

Cartoonist Mindy Indy will teach kids of all ages to see the world as their canvas. Kids will start by sketching a variety of objects in front of them, and then later sketch themselves! Sketching is looser than drawing and doesn't need to be "perfect." Students can move at their own pace and just have fun!

Hope to see you there!

You know what I'm talking about.  That ONE box that you've pushed to the side.  Inside it has things that are important, like papers for filing and such, but you don't use them every day, so you put off sorting through it for a week, a month, a year...  In my last apartment, I had one such box that lasted probably more than a year.  Maybe I'll get to this one after NYCC...

Get ready for NYCC - next week!

I can't believe it's only ONE WEEK til the mega-event New York Comic Con!  Check out Nadia's and my listing on the NYCC official site!  I've been trying to get a new mini comic together in time... hopefully I can make it!  Thursday tickets are still available for NYCC fyi. 

I've also been selected to be a panelist for a talk about comics and business at Berkeley College!  Very excited!  The room is open to Berkeley students, but everyone can watch online live at tinyurl.com/BCGeekWeekLive.  I love talking about stuff like this and hope people will find it helpful.

Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh so y'know how I got that new adjustable drawing table?  We're still settling the living room in the new apartment, so no couch or dining table yet, so I've been eating in my room with the table on a level position.  TO MY HORROR, even when I put a magazine underneath the dinner plate, the drawing surface got all bumpy!  Luckily, I explained the situation to the manufacturer and they're sending me a replacement part THANK GOD.  I spent so much time putting that thing together, and it was hard carrying it from the store to the subway and up 6 flights of stairs... no way in hell am I returning it and going through all that again.

NYCC Super Week!

Not sure if I mentioned, but I got into NYCC's Artist Alley!  I'm sharing a table with Nadia Burgess again, and am very excited!  We're table W4 in Artist Alley.  There's still time to buy tickets for Thursday October 9th for $35!  But if you can't take the day off work or miss class, you can still go to all these cool new SUPER WEEK events!  What is Super Week?!  NYCC has wised up to the fact that they've grown so much that people who are casually interested cannot easily get a ticket.  Tix are selling out earlier and earlier - it's freakin' 3 weeks away and only Thursday tix left??  So they created Super Week packed with comic-themed events all around NYC!  There are over 100 things going on for free, cheap, or $$$ to fit anyone's budget.  Events range from a free Muppets and Superheroes thing at Housingworks Bookstore, to lots of $10 improv comedy shows at bars, to more expensive talk shows with the stars (I reeeeeeaaaaaaalllly want to go to Neil DeGrasse Tyson's talk!!!  But $45..... hmm.....)  Anyone can go, and I'd like to go to some of the free/cheap ones to mingle and talk with people about my Artist Alley booth!  I went to an event last week at Brooklyn Brewery (yes last week, it was that early... the hype is getting like that of the Super Bowl's), and found out that a lot of people don't even KNOW about Artist's Alley.  For shame.  http://www.newyorksuperweek.com/Home/ Super Week goes from October 3rd thru 12th.  Ok that's more than a week but "Super Week" sounds better than "Super 10 Days."

Since moving, there are the obvious places you need to change your address officially with - the post office, credit cards, and banks are the first things that come to mind.  But then there are the zillions of other smaller things you forget about that need your address, like every online shipping address for starters, and stuff like insurance and aauuuughhhhhh!!!!

New York Comic Con!

So did I mention I got into New York Comic Con this year after all?  Late last month they said a space opened up in Artist's Alley, and I coordinated with another artist, Nadia Burgess, to share a table!  Nadia does cool crossover illustrations and AMAZING comic themed cakes!  We're very excited to be in NYCC this year and have much to prepare.  Find us in the North Pavilion at table V15.  This is a slightly better spot than last year when I was in aisle Z.

You can still get a Thursday ticket to NYCC, but all other days are already sold out.  Hope to see you there!

The Daily Misfortune 230

I found out that I didn't make it into New York Comic Con.  But this happened last year, and a space opened up last minute!  I'm not discouraged yet.  Hopefully lightning will strike twice!

The Daily Misfortune 223

Got this idea from a guy I met at Wizard World this past weekend.  This is a joke his friends used to play on him :)  Wizard was ok.  Not as great as I'd hoped, for it being a 3-day con.  I was expecting it to be similar to NYCC, because the table cost almost as much, but there just wasn't as much traffic flow.  Unfortunately many artists didn't do well and won't return next year.  I was warned about this con, but I wanted to see for myself.  At least I didn't lose money though.